Associate Commerce Minister Laila Harré introduced the Construction Contracts Bill to Parliament this morning.
The Bill has three aims:
To facilitate prompt and regular payments within the construction industry
To provide for the resolution of disputes arising under construction contracts
To provide remedies for the recovery of payments under construction contracts
Laila Harré says the Construction Contracts Bill will bring about the end of more than a decade of cashflow problems and
insolvency within the construction industry, brought about by the repeal of the Wages Protection and Contractors Liens
Act in 1987.
"This Bill will promote an efficient flow of cash within the construction industry and encourage responsible and
realistic construction contracts that make thorough provision for progress payments to contractors and subcontractors."
It will do this in six ways.
It invalidates pay if paid and pay when paid clauses in construction contracts
It sets out default provisions that require the payment of periodic payments within the construction industry, unless
the parties to a construction contract have specifically agreed otherwise
It provides that payment may not be withheld unless the payee gets a notice stating adequate reasons for withholding
money
It establishes a quick and inexpensive adjudication process for resolving disputes that allows a binding but not final
determination to be made
It allows a person who has not been paid without good reason to suspend work until paid
If a party to a construction contract is owed money for carrying out construction work under the contract, it enables
that party to register a charge against the construction site, where the person owns the site is related to the body
that owes the money.
"The underlying aim of this Bill is to promote responsible behaviour in the construction industry," Laila Harré said.
Ends